Chapter Seventeen
Lily’s scream woke Roxie from a dead sleep, and she was on her feet and running before she was fully conscious. Rushing through her niece’s bedroom door, she found Lily sitting up in bed, tears streaming down her face.
“What’s wrong?” Roxie asked as she moved forward and sat on the bed. Lily scrambled into her lap, practically crawling up her neck as she buried her face against Roxie’s neck and sobbed.
Looking around, Roxie didn’t see anything indicating danger. Her skin was tingling, with the fight-or-flight mode fully in place. She rubbed Lily’s back as the child shook uncontrollably and mumbled nonsensical words.
“It’s just a nightmare, little one,” Roxie assured her.
Roxie rose from the bed and carried Lily with her to her bedroom. She propped a pillow up and leaned back against the headboard as she continued mumbling comforting words to the terrified child.
After what had to be a half hour of sobs and muttered words, Lily gave a few hiccups and finally began to settle down.
“Do you want to tell me what scared you so much?” Roxie asked. She was almost afraid to do so. She didn’t want Lily to fall back into a panic.
“Someone was knocking on my window. He’s trying to get me,” Lily said in between hiccups.
Roxie’s entire body froze at her niece’s words. She tried telling herself it was just a bad dream, that Lily hadn’t truly heard anything. But what if . . .
“I’m sure it was just a dream, sweetie. Some dreams feel very real,” Roxie assured her.
“No!” Lily cried. “He called my name,” she said, leaning back, terror still clearly in her eyes.
Roxie’s body froze in fear. Though she didn’t want to think the man who’d killed her sister was still out there, was still wanting to finish the job he hadn’t completed, she would rather err on the side of caution.
Without really thinking about it, Roxie found herself lifting her phone and dialing Kian. He answered before the first ring was even finished.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, no trace of sleep in his voice.
“Lily thinks someone was knocking on her window,” Roxie said, her words barely audible.
“I’ll be there in five minutes,” he said.
The call disconnected.
Roxie was sure not even five minutes had passed when Kian rushed into her house, finding her and Lily in the same spot they’d been in for the past thirty minutes. There was a wild flare to his eyes as he looked in all directions before his gaze landed on the two of them.
He nodded, then rushed from the room, and she heard each door open before closing again less than a minute later. She was sure he was checking all the locks on the doors and windows. Then she heard the front door open, and she felt her stomach tighten. Within five minutes he was back, his eyes still alert, but a bit calmer now.
“My brother and the sheriff will be here soon,” he told her.
“What? Why?” she asked.
Lily had fallen asleep in the last few minutes, and Roxie truly felt comforted by having her in her arms.
“Someone could be here,” he told her.
“It also could have been nothing but a bad dream,” she insisted.
“I want you to move in with me.” His voice was firm, as if that was going to get her to do what he was so foolishly commanding.
“We’re fine. I shouldn’t have called you,” she told him.
Though she was reluctant to let Lily out of her arms, she had to use the bathroom, and she could really use a drink. Being careful not to stir her too much, Roxie laid Lily down in her bed, tucked her in tight, then stood over her for a few moments to make sure she wasn’t going to wake up. Once she was sure, she moved to the bathroom and shut the door without bothering to tell Kian.
By the time she came back out, his brothers Declan and Owen were in her living room along with the sheriff. The four men were standing close, whispering. She approached cautiously.
“I’m sorry to have spooked you all. I’m sure it was nothing more than a dream,” Roxie said.
“There are footprints outside Lily’s window,” Declan said. A new shiver of fear ran down her spine.
“That could have been Kian when he did a perimeter sweep,” Roxie said hopefully.
“I don’t think so,” Declan said. The way he spoke was all business and was spooking her even more than she needed to be.
“It’s okay, Roxie. We’re going to keep you both safe,” Owen assured her, the first of them to approach and pull her in for a hug she hadn’t even realized she needed. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and took comfort from someone who had always been a great friend.
“She’d be safe if she just came to my place,” Kian told her, his eyes narrowing as Owen’s hand rested low on her back. She rolled her eyes at him as she let go of Owen and took a step back so Kian wouldn’t think he could grab her next.
“I’ll just add an extra lock or two,” Roxie said, satisfied with her solution.
Kian stared at her for several moments, not wanting to back down. She looked right back at him, letting him know without words she wasn’t a damsel in distress who needed rescuing.
He lifted his phone, punched in a number, and waited. Roxie could hear the irritated voice from six feet away as it snapped out a greeting to him. Kian didn’t even blink as he interrupted the man.
“How soon can you get a security system installed?” he said. The command in his tone would make most people jump to do his bidding.
“Not good enough,” Kian said. He waited a moment longer. “I’ll triple it if you get someone here by morning.” Again, there was a pause, and the person was no longer yelling. “Done.” Kian hung up the phone.
“What did you do?” she asked.
“I’m not leaving tonight. A system will be put in tomorrow,” Kian said.
Exhaustion was quickly pulling Roxie under, and she had no desire to keep fighting with him, especially in front of his brothers and the town sheriff, who appeared to be amused. Yeah, Kian was just a barrel of laughs.
“Blankets are in the closet. Good night,” she told him without a smile. She did give the others a thank-you and a smile before turning around and going into her bedroom, firmly shutting the door behind her.
Even with the excitement in the middle of the night, Roxie didn’t have any trouble drifting off to sleep again. She wouldn’t admit, even under torture, that maybe, just maybe, it was because Kian was out there ensuring her safety.